Does Anyone Regret NOT getting a top MBA?
I am quite curious to hear from folks in their early/mid-30s here if folks regret turning down an M7 MBA to continue on in PE/GE/VC (or even a corporate/startup path)
I feel like it's very stylish now to assume it's not necessary, but I've come across stories of career stagnation as well that are interesting. I see two examples
a) Career Stagnation: e.g. MM Growth Equity Principal - realizes he's not getting the material carry he deserves only after turning down Wharton and spending years working at his firm. Struggling to lateral at the moment.
b) "I would have been successful anyways": e.g. VP Strategy at unicorn startup - turned down HBS to work on a great startup. Finds the startup has done well but folks who went to school are getting more looks for large, decacorn startup exec opportunities. Financially well off but realizes he could have taken a 2 year vacation, made friends, and done well regardless. Not a 'regret' necessarily, but more of a realization later in their career that he could have taken the detour and wonders what could have happened.
Not that these folks really 'regret' their paths, but career stagnation can happen and those stories don't really get told a lot - I'm curious what folks have seen at their firms and in their industry. Usually, conversations on regret are personal and folks rarely talk about that even with close friends, but still - think this is an interesting way to frame the age-old question of whether an MBA is worth it.
Honestly, I see the opposite trend now.
There seem to be a lot of guys who get the Principal promote - even at Megafunds - without an MBA.
A guy from my analyst class (GS/MS) is now a Principal at a Megafund, and he never got an MBA. His undergrad was from a CUNY/SUNY.
There's another guy who did his undergrad at Iowa State University who made Principal at KKR recently, without ever getting an MBA.
I have seen several others from a non-prestigious undergrad become Principal at Megafunds without an MBA.
Having said that, if you truly feel this worried about it, then just go for an MBA.
Sup man. I miss holding hands. Thank you for helping me realize I'm not straight. I was always so ashamed of being gay but ever since meeting you in that ridiculous class I am not afraid to show it. I'm very happy with how things are going for you and your future looks really bright. Keep on working hard.
Only 3 reasons to get an MBA 1. to rest and reset 2. to rebrand and broaden network 3. to pivot to a new career. If you don't see yourself needing 1 or more of these there is no need to waste your money. Like others have said, plenty of people nowadays make it to Partner/MD without it.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Was really indifferent when it came to opportunity cost. With current life expectancy trends, most of us will live till 100 and work till our 70s...
Did ivy undergrad, but still went for the M7 MBA. Wanted time to reassess what I wanted in life, take a break, etc. Lot of people go to find a spouse also if they didn't meet their significant other in undergrad.
Having an MBA helps to raise money too, although not necessary. Have a lot of friends from my ivy league undergrad going specifically to an MBA program to incubate some sort of idea or venture.
I graduated recently. Standard work experience before the mba.
Most of my friends met their significant other in undergrad and are getting married now (or soon)
I turned down (well deferred) HBS two years ago during COVID and while I don't regret my decision I have some mixed thoughts:
a) Lots of my pre-MBA friends went and made a lot of cool new friends during the time there (even during COVID). I have a great social circle of undergrad + local friends but our priorities have changed and often times your friends can change a lot in your late 20s - grad school, in general, gives you a new batch of similarly valued, interesting people to meet.
b) I'm in tech (VC). The MBA still has signaling value, but it isn't essential. There are still doors HBS opens to larger funds (Sequoia, Kleiner, etc.) but the majority of folks at those firms don't have MBAs and were usually strong undergrads ---> stellar career or worked like crazy/had a few lucky breaks at a startup operator.
c) The value of the MBA has really declined in the past 5-7 years. Just as many folks who don't have an MBA in startup world or even at Amazon/MSFT/Google, etc. will judge you for having put up $200k+ to go party (their perception, not mine). The whole anti-MBA thing is probably a combination of the tech bull market + I think a lot of these top programs are trying to construct diverse candidates who pursue entrepreneurship
d) If you are going to a top MBA program and you don't need it, you're going to either make friends, to de-risk yourself or for prestige. Most I think are in the latter two camps. I could potentially have a point in life where I take a big pay cut and leave venture, but I'm not sure HBS would have de-risked me anymore besides giving me a few more places to interview potentially.
On the flip side - I think a lot of folks don't/can't regret their MBA because it's like regretting going to undergrad in some sense - it's such an ingrained part of your life.
I think once you take prestige out of the equation (so instead of saying 'Top MBA', say 'grad school'), it makes you think a lot clearer about these choices IMHO
I can tell you I regret going to a sub-7 MBA. I went to a school ranked #10 at the time, and which has bounced between #12 and #9 slots in recent years. I don't get the credit for the degree to the same extent as my undergrad, which was a top tier school. It's a tough thing to sit out and re-apply, but it's worth it. Never settle. Keep an eye on the prize and don't settle. Don't ever settle. You only get one shot at an MBA.
This comment was before I broke into PE. Could care less about an MBA now haha
Really find it puzzling how people decide NOT to pursue further education based on the prospect of being 2 years behind. What's 2 years in the context of a career? I for one got an MBA (HSW) and can say that it not only helped expand my network substantially, but most importantly I made a lot of friends with very diverse backgrounds. It doesn't even compare to undergrad. If you don't want an MBA because of the outright costs and the hustle of applying I get it, but fear of being behind is really ridiculous.
I know I'm a year late to this, but I'll give my take anyways, lots of good content above, both from who went back and who didn't. To me in comes down to a personal decision based on a couple of different factors with the large ones generally being, how financial secure/stable you are, where you are in life from a personal relationship perspective, what your academic background is, where you are professionally, and what you want to do professionally.
From a financial perspective, it's a huge $ cost and a huge opportunity cost. I was in a post-MBA PE role when I decided to go back, with carry + salary, it was easily over a million dollar decision for me. Plus, I knew I would probably end up in an equal/lower paying job coming out of school (I wasn't necessarily gunning to go back to PE). With that said, I was luckily enough to have made enough money up to that point, where I could afford to go back. Other's aren't so lucky, if you had student loans to pay, a family to support, etc, it's a much bigger decision. For me, it was a luxury, but one that I deemed was worth investing in.
From a life/personal perspective, If you've got a great group of friends and a significant other (emphasis on significant other) then I think it generally makes less sense, especially if you're on the fence. If you're 27 or so, have been dating a guy/girl for a few years, have a great social life that you love, etc then it's harder to change the status quo. On the other hand if you're single, maybe still have a good social life, but are young and energetic enough to want to go and make new friends and have a life experience, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and do that. The concentrated amount of time you can spend with folks, especially likeminded ones, in such a casual and enjoyable social setting is much tougher to obtain in the real world. I made lifelong friends from B-School, folks that I know will be close friends for decades and I feel as though I have a group of 30+ that will end up at my wedding/other major life events. I had great friends from undergrad and the early few years in my professional career, but honestly, that circle is smaller. Not a bad thing, I'm not a quantity over quality guy, but personally, I feel extremely fortunate to have made the friends I've made, to me, those connection are what life is about. I was also single during business school, which made the experience even more enjoyable.
From an academic background perspective, if you went to an Ivy or Wharton or a top public school, the branding/network might not matter as much. If you went to...I don't know, I don't want to pick on any school, but a smaller school or a less regarded public college, the branding of H/S or even MIT/Booth/M7 etc is huge and those networks are expansive. Not everyone has the resources or the knowledge, even coming from an educated background to realize at 17/18 how important the educational branding is if you want to compete in finance. Hell, in hindsight I should have busted ass more and fought to transfer to any Ivy league school that would take me, I think a lot of us feel that way. While B-School might not 100% correct that, it does give a chance for many to get a solid rebrand and to base that rebrand off of 5-7 years of work experience and maturity as opposed to what you'd accomplished by 17/18. I lean on my MBA more and more now and while I could have gotten by without it, it's really nice to have.
Professionally, the best reason to do an MBA is if you're making a big pivot, that is the majority of middle of the fairway MBA candidates. I think for a larger group on this forum, the decision isn't quite as clear. If you're in PE pre-MBA, should you go back? What about if you're an A2 in banking? You might not love it, but you made $400k last year and if you went to B-School and wanted to get back into banking you'd be an A0. So for those on here in audit or F500 finance that want to get to MBB or BB IBD, that's a layup in terms of career progression, for others, you need to really think about what you want to get out of the experience and factor in the above things I mentioned. Personally, I knew I could get back into PE if I wanted to, but I really wanted time/headspace to explore other buyside roles and entrepreneurship. I interned at a variety of places, expanded by buyside skillset to include a mix of things, and now have much more conviction in where I want to be long-term. If I had stayed in PE, I would have always wondered what else was out there. Again, personal to me, but that's how I thought about it.
And finally to answer the original question, I don't think there is any consensus as to whether folks regret going or not going back. The experience is hard not to like, so if nothing else, it's a great 2 years. At the same time, late 20s/early 30s is a big time for career progression and often times, those who are in a good position and don't end up going, make big leaps during those years and figure it was the right decision to not go. Not to be overly pithy, but at the end of the day, it comes down to what you want out of life. Some want/need the branding and experience, others don't. Some might be in a point in life where they need a bit of a reset/change of scenery others might be happily moving towards a more settled life. I think there's completely valid reasons for both going and not going, part of the fun of life is getting to make that decision.